Chilean Sea Bass

What is Chilean Sea Bass

Chilean Sea Bass is also called Patagonian Toothfish, and it’s found deep in to the cold waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.

When it comes to texture it has a thick texture that is super flakey and melt in your mouth soft when cooked. And when it comes to taste, Chilean Sea Bass is truly one of the richest, buttery tasting fish you can ever try!

To cook Chilean Sea Bass, you can pean sear it, oven bake it, Air fry it or grill it. Today we’re talking all about Pan Searing Chilean Sea Bass. Because of its high fat content, it’s very unlikely that you can dry out the fish. So pan seared Chilean Sea Bass with butter is my absolute favorite way to cook it! 

Why Make Chilean Sea bass at home?

• It uses basic and simple ingredients that you have on hand.
• You’ll save a lot of money because it’s one of the most expensive fish dish to order at restaurants.
• The side dishes you can pair it with are endless! Try this Spaghetti aglio e olio: Olive oil Pasta,  Lemon Butter Sauce, Pan Fried Potatoes, Panzanella Salad, Pesto Pasta, Burrata Pasta and more!
• You’ll impress yourself by making this recipe at home!

How To Shop For Chilean Sea Bass

As with every fish that you buy, making sure it’s fresh is key! Since Chilean Sea Bass is especially pricey, you really want to make sure you buy a good piece of fillet . Look out for this:

• The fillet should smell like the ocean, it shouldn’t have any “fishy” odor, rather a fresh ocean like smell.
• when you look at the flesh of the fillet, it should look white with a firm texture, and the skin should be holding firmly to the flesh. Make sure the flesh isn’t flakey or cracky, and same for the skin.
• If possible, find a trust worthy fish monger, specially if you buy seafood regularly and ask for fresh chilean sea bass.
• When you buy the fish, make sure you cook it within a few days and avoid freezing it as best as you can. 

Fresh Versus Frozen Chilean Sea Bass

If you can get your hands on fresh, then by all means we encourage you to go for that option. However, depending on where you live, frozen may be the only option available and in that case it’s still ok and totally worth trying! Just make sure the fish is completely thawed in the fridge before cooking, and of course avoid freezing it if you purchased a previously frozen fillet.

Chilean Sea Bass Recipe Ingredients:

This is such a simple and basic way to prepare the fish, yet I promise it’s a decadent dish! Here’s basically what you need:

• Chilean sea bass – Use skinless or skin on fillets. I use skin on because I love the flavor it gives.
• Seasoning: salt and pepper only– You really don’t need any harsh spices or seasoning here. Season to taste. 
• Butter– Since we’re pan searing the fish, butter is our favorite fat to sear with because it infuses the fish with a deeper level of richness.
• Basil Pesto – eWe love finishing off the fish with a dollop of our homemade basil pesto for a bright burst of flavor and freshness! It’s optional but SO good!! And especially good if serving it with Pesto Pasta.
• Lemon Zest– You can use lemon juice or zest to finish off the fillets, I love zest!
• Chilli Flakes– Ok that’s not necessary if I’m being completely honest, however that spike of spice for us is everything!

How To Cook Chilean Sea Bass

The beauty of cooking seafood at home, is that you can prepare them endlessly.

• You can bake them like this Baked Mahi Mahi, Baked Salmon With Greek Dressing and Green Mussels .
• You can also Air fry them like: Air Fryer Scallops or Air Fryer Salmon.
• Plus you can broil like  Cooking Lobster Tail and you can pan sear like Cooking Scallops, Pan Seared Salmon, Sockeye Salmon With Lemon Butter Sauce, Mussels and today’s pan seared Chilean sea bass.

Here are the 4 simple steps to Pan seared Chilean Sea bass:

1. Pat dry the fish fillets and season both sides with salt and pepper.
2. Add butter to your non stick skillet and when it’s heated it up, add in the fish fillets.
3. Wait for 3-5 minutes until the fillets have a beautiful golden sear before flipping them and cooking them for another 3-5 minutes.
4. The fillet is ready and just need a finish up of more butter, lemon slices, a dollop of Basil Pesto, lemon zest and a final sprinkle of chilli flakes. 

How To Serve

• Our absolute favorite way is to serve Chilean Sea bass over pasta! Like this is our go to serving suggestion!
• We recommend this Pesto Pasta, or Spaghetti aglio e olio : Olive oil Pasta.
• Another favorite is Burrata Pasta,  Caprese Salad or a rich buttery squash dish. Something like Roasted Acorn Squash, Butternut Squash Casserole, Honeynut Squash, or Spaghetti Squash Recipe.